The Remains of the Day
So much to do.
Returning from the bateys each day, the team restocks the supply
of medicines and equipment, based on what we dispensed that day, what illnesses
we anticipate encountering the next.
Each evening, the physicians, therapists and nurses spend
hours reviewing the charts of the patients they’ve seen that day. They gather around the big table in our kitchen and consult with one another about
diagnoses, treatment decisions, referrals for the kids who need more help.
Everyone discusses what worked well, what we can do better
the next day. Every day, we feel like the team establishes a better rhythm,
gets more efficient.
There is also the practical matter of keeping the house
running smoothly. Team members make the peanut butter sandwiches that all of us
eat for lunch every day on our bus ride home from the bateys. We figure out how to divide
bathroom time among a dozen house dwellers. Morning coffee and eggs get made
and dishes get washed. (For our
dinners, we are exceedingly fortunate: a Dominican woman named Martina comes in
to cook each evening – her delicious meals are the highlight of the day.) Supplies - breakfast bars, toilet paper, fresh fruit,
bottled water, bleach (for disinfecting all of our cookware and tableware) –
get bought.
Everyone helps, sees what is needed, pitches in. We are a team in
the house as well as out in the community.
Posted at 03:56PM Nov 04, 2009
by Linda Lightner in Health |
Posted by Suzanne Raab, LCSW on November 04, 2009 at 04:04 PM EST #
Posted by Helen Guy on November 05, 2009 at 03:57 PM EST #
Posted by Susan Bakewell-Sachs on November 06, 2009 at 06:11 PM EST #